Here are about ten sellers in a row this morning on the corner of 7th and Market in the heart of the corrupt Twitterloin.
Cream cheese was the order of the day:
Click to expand
Appears as if San Francisco’s seniors have more than enough food, but not enough cold hard cash.
I inquired about Crispy Hexagons, but there was no reply.
So yeah, sometimes our seniors don’t really need to eat the food that they line up for at area food banks and churches and whatnot, but what are you going to do? It’s a lifestyle thing.
Get Famous Akit’s emphatic viewpoint on this issue right here.
Now, here’s the video from KTVU, complete with numerous Crispy Hexagons sightings. (Mmmmm….orthogonal.)
The weekly scene at Willie Brown’s old church in the Western A:
Click to expand.
So sure, some of them start horse-trading immediately (a big no-no near Glide Memorial – they want you to at least cross the street before dickering) and others sell their stuff down at U.N Plaza (that Mistake by the Lake, or fountain, whatever.)
And others, in more suburban areas such as the Western Addition and the West Bay, load their booty into the boots of their aging GS V8 Lexuseses.
But, what can you do?
Famous Akit has been riding the SFMTA over the whole Point Lobos Saturday service issue – check out his update.
(If MUNI ran the post office, a first-class stamp would cost $17. And delivery to Hawaii and Alaska? Well you could just forget about that.)
Remember, Transit First, Riders Last.
Japantown Redevelopment Fever – catch it today in the Civic Center. You know, this whole Different Neighborhood Plan (some people call it the Better Neighborhood Plan, others call it the Worse Neighborhood Plan) has not been without controversy – get a flavor of that at Akit’s Complaint Department and Nakayoshi Young Professionals. Here’s what the coverage has been from Curbed SF and the Socketsite. (And there are some websites with people who advocate for the BNP.)
Below are the materials that will be presented today to the Historic Preservation Commission (nee Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board) by Planner Matt Weintraub sometime this afternoon after 12:30 PM (item #9 on the calendar) at Room 400 of City Hall, 200 Polk Street.
Historic Preservation Commission Case Report, June 3, 2009 - PDF 233 kB
Japantown BNP Survey Area Map -PDF 214 kB
Historic Context Statement: Japantown, San Francisco, California - PDF 8 MB
Physical Heritage Report - PDF 1.6 MB
Traditional Cultural Property Evaluation Report - PDF 412 kB
District Record -PDF 400 kB
Survey Findings Report - PDF 736 kB
Property Evaluation – 1530 Buchanan Street -PDF 371 kB
Property Evaluation – 1745-1747 Buchanan Street -PDF 372 kB
Property Evaluation – 2018 Bush Street -PDF 408 kB
Property Evaluation – 2020 Bush Street -PDF 263 kB
Property Evaluation – 2031 Bush Street -PDF 469 kB
Property Evaluation – 2178-2182 Bush Street -PDF 479 kB
Property Evaluation – 1908-1914 Fillmore Street -PDF 385 kB
Property Evaluation – 2000-2016 Fillmore Street -PDF 330 kB
Property Evaluation – 1450 Laguna Street -PDF 474 kB
Property Evaluation – 1501 O’Farrell Street -PDF 772 kB
Property Evaluation – 2158 Pine Street -PDF 272 kB
Property Evaluation – 1646 Sutter Street -PDF 479 kB
Property Evaluation – 1745-1751 Sutter Street -PDF 334 kB
Property Evaluation – 1830 Sutter Street -PDF 618 kB
Property Evaluation – Buchanan Mall -PDF 307 kB
Property Evaluation – Japan Center - PDF 5.2 MB
More deets, after the jump.
Here it comes from the We’re-from-the-Government-and-We’re-Here-to-Help-You people. Brace yourselves:
“The DRAFT Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan is ready for your review!”
O.K. then. But the problem is that some of the people involved in this process from the get-go now use the term “complete disaster” to describe it today. Let’s journey to Akit’s Complaint Department to get the reaction from Paul Osaki, Executive Director of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California. It’s under “SF Japantown Crisis” – check it out, if you want.
Tearing down those malls on Post Street – is that a good idea? I don’t know. But keep in mind that these are the same people that sold you the “Great Street!” of Octavia Boulevard, which turned out to be a scar upon the land. (In mitigation, the Japantown “B”NP lacks the complicating factor have having architects designing like-nowhere-else-in-the-universe boulevards. Sorry, “Great Boulevards!”)
Anywho, check out the latest news and the meeting sked below, and check out the notes from a meeting with Mayor Gavin Newsom and Ross Mirkarimi after the jump. Things were so much happier back in 2007.
See if you agree that this plan is simply “a road map for developers.”
To Be Continued.
LATEST NEWS
After several years of analysis and community process, the Draft Plan phase is ready for your review. The Draft Plan will be presented to the Planning Commission for Commission endorsement at the end of June 2009. Prior to endorsement, we will hold two informational hearings at the Planning Commission, and one hearing at the Historic Preservation Commission. In the upcoming month, please review the Draft Plan, attend any or all of the hearings to provide feedback , and send us your comments.
You can review each chapter individually by
clicking on the links below:
Chapter 1: Introduction -  4 MBChapter 2: Community Heritage - 2.5 MBChapter 3: Community and Economic Development - 1.2 MBChapter 4: Land Use - 2.1 MBChapter 5: Built Form - 3.1 MB
Chapter 6: Public Realm - Chapter 7: Transportation and Circulation - Chapter 8: Japan Center - Chapter 9: Implementation -
Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan Appendices There are also a number of appendices referenced in the Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan. Click below to download them. Appendix A: Japantown Opinion Survey Summary Appendix B: National Heritage Areas Appendix C: Historic Property Benefits Matrix Appendix D: Community Benefit District Case Studies Appendix E: Implementation Case Studies Appendix F: Planning a Multi-Use Community Facility Appendix G: Transportation and Circulation Analysis Appendix H: Japan Center Proforma Analysis |
If you would like to purchase a hard copy of the Draft Plan, they will be available beginning May 26th in the Japantown Planning Room during our office hours (2nd floor of the Miyako Mall) or at Japantown Task Force at 1765 Sutter Street. We will also have free CDs and free copies available that you can read on site.
The hearings begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Commission Chambers – Room 400, San Francisco City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place. Check the Planning Commission calendar at sfplanning.org (under “Calendars”) as the dates get closer; calendars are subject to change.
Want to discuss the Draft Plan or ask questions? Visit us during Office Hours in the Japantown Planning Room:
If these times don’t work for you, please schedule a different time by contacting Rosie Dudley at 415-575-9068 or via email at rosemary.dudley@sfgov.org.
Send your comments to Rosie Dudley at 1650 Mission, Suite 400 San Francisco, CA 94103 or email them to rosemary.dudley@sfgov.org.
Now the point of the government-sponsored Home for Halloween ad campaign is to suppress turnout for San Francisco’s world-famous Halloween in the Castro. At that, it might be successful, we’ll see. But the webpages for the ad campaign sure are an amateurish, ham-handed production. To wit, try to reconcile this:
“There will be NO Halloween celebration in the Castro in 2008.”
With this:
Well that’s clear as mud.
Where will these Castro Queens go this year? Click to expand:
Where will Fake Frank Chu go this year?
Where will Batgirl and Robin go this year?
Let’s scan through a few more blanket statements from the H4H webpages:
“As in every other community in the City, there will be zero tolerance for behavior which doesn’t respect the celebrated diversity of our communities.”
What? Not sure if this is a government-sponsored policy goal or whatever. It certainly doesn’t reflect reality and, if we imagine local government taking steps to make the above statement become true, those steps would be unconstitutional. Moving on:
“And again like last year, there will be zero tolerance for individuals and businesses that do not obey alcohol consumption and distribution regulations.”
In reality, San Francisco has a lot of tolerance for a lot of things. The above statement is not operational, it is incorrect. Let’s try another:
“The Castro is not appropriate for a party with 100,000 people.”
So then, what about Pink Saturday? Is IT appropriate for the Castro? Perhaps the gov’mint could start up a Home for Pink Saturday campaign?
Akit’s Complaint Department really gets into the David Perry issue here. (It’s certainly possible Akit misunderstood Supervisor Bevan Dufty’s statements over the past year, but that’s a different matter.)
Enjoy your Halloween, San Francisco.
